In this edition of Things You Might Not Have Seen, I have two post-apocalyptic drama series for you to check out: Fallout (2024) and The Last Of Us (2023). Even though both dramas cover the same topic- end of the world as we know it- and are based on video games, both have different, distinctive styles. Both are amazing, compelling series, that left a profound impression on me with their stories.
Image source: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt12637874/
In Fallout, the world ends due to nuclear bombs falling on major cities. I won't spoil the how and why (discovering that is the central question and reveals the heart of the drama series), but watching the show is sobering, knowing how precarious a situation modern society is in, and terrifying enough, how in the wrong hands, how easily the events in the show can become a reality 🙁
What makes Fallout unique, is its quirky style, especially the great, vintage music score. The show portrayed an underlying innocence among the death and carnage, especially in the vaulters. Their idealism finds itself at odds with the reality of the surface world, but still, it adds a level of lightness to a very grim story.
The three main characters couldn't be more different from one another (a two hundred year old ghoul, a sheltered vaulter, and a recruit from the cult-like Brotherhood), but they all share common traits: persistence, and a desperate need to discover the truth and set things right, whether about themselves, or the world around them. They do, however, range in their level of cynicism, that slowly changes with the show and their experiences. Some become more hopeful, while others begin to question everything and everyone.
I am not sure if there is another season, but the first season did end with a major cliffhanger.
Image source: https://www.ign.com/tv/the-last-of-us-the-series
Another great series is The Last Of Us. The show is darker, grittier, and made me terrified (at a primal level) of fungi. I knew about Cordyceps being parasitic among insects, but never in my wildest dreams, could have imagined the possibility of it transferring over to humans. After watching the show, I can't stop thinking about it 😬
This show made me cry a few times, and it is because of the bond between the two main characters, Joel and Ellie, the former is a father whose life stopped when he lost his daughter early in the outbreak, and the latter, a spunky, fierceless teenager who is immuned to the infection (and so becomes the last hope for finding a cure, and saving humanity... whether deserving or not).
Why did I say that, you might wonder? The show doesn't flinch from showing the darkness of humans (violence, murder, anarchy, cannibalism). I almost quit the show mid-way because my heart couldn't take it, but had to return to know what happened to Joel and Ellie 😭 I heard that the second season is going to be even darker. I am not sure if I will be able to continue watching it if that is the case.
But don't let my weak nerves stop you, The Last Of Us is an amazing drama series. Definitely one that will haunt my thoughts for a long time.
As you might know, I write fantasy books and one of my books, Queen of Frost and Ice, has a dystopian theme. Instead of a nuclear fallout and a raging pandemic, the collapse of society in this story is because of a mad fire king and a spiteful ice queen. There is an older sister who would do anything to protect her younger sibling. There is a theme of survival, found family, revenge, redemption like in the drama series.
You can check it out at this link here: https://payhip.com/b/7zFEn
Thank you for reading! ❤️
No comments:
Post a Comment